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Cop claims harassment by the 'Babe for Bush'

A right-wing former Fox TV pundit is being investigated for criminal harassment after accusing an ex-boyfriend of leaking Canadian anti-terrorism secrets.

By John Goddardstaff reporter

Fri., Dec. 21, 2007

A right-wing former Fox TV pundit is being investigated for criminal harassment after accusing an ex-boyfriend of leaking Canadian anti-terrorism secrets.

Rachel Marsden, prominent in the late 1990s for accusing a Simon Fraser University swimming coach for raping and stalking her, says OPP anti-terrorism Const. Tony Backhurst fed her top-secret papers.

"I don't know why he (gave me the documents)," she said yesterday in an email response to an interview request, "other than perhaps he was too cheap to buy me jewelry and figured state secrets would be a good substitute."

She denied harassing the officer.

"I live in NYC," she wrote. "If I was going to 'stalk' anyone from that kind of a massive distance, it sure wouldn't be that loser.

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"Anyone who reads my blog or column knows it would be (French President) Nicolas Sarkozy!"

Backhurst's lawyer Andrew McKay said Marsden is harassing the officer through emails and inaccurate website postings.

"Her conduct is simply outrageous," he said.

Backhurst, who ran unsuccessfully in 2004 as the federal Tory candidate for Scarborough-Rouge River, acknowledges a brief love affair with Marsden two years ago – not one that continued until nearly three months ago, as Marsden maintains.

The officer has filed a complaint with South Simcoe Police asking the Crown "at a minimum, to lay a criminal harassment charge," the lawyer said.

Backhurst is currently on "personal leave to look after his family," McKay said. At no time was the officer suspended from his job and he expects to return to it soon.

The OPP's criminal investigations branch recently cleared the officer of any wrongdoing. A separate internal investigation is ongoing, his lawyer said.

Marsden, 32, styles herself as a right-wing political commentator and "Babe for Bush."

Her website rachelmarsden.com promises "Politics with an edge!" and includes numerous flattering photos of herself.

Until recently, her career seemed on the upswing. She relocated to New York from Vancouver this spring as a Toronto Sun columnist and Fox News Channel pundit.

But last month, the Sun dropped her after a two-year run – part of a routine change to ensure fresh voices, senior editor Lorrie Goldstein said yesterday.

And in June, Fox security guards escorted her from the channel's New York offices "for erratic behaviour," the New York Post reported at the time, and the Fox show Red Eye dropped her as a panelist. She appeared on CNN as recently as October.

Marsden denied the story and Fox did not respond yesterday to a request for comment.

Marsden grew up in Port Coquitlam, B.C., and was enrolled at Simon Fraser in 1995 when she accused swimming coach Liam Donnelly of sexual harassment over a 16-month period and date rape.

In 1997, prominent feminists took up her cause.

Donnelly was fired. Two months later, he was exonerated, paid compensation and rehired, and the university president resigned over mishandling the case.

In 1999, Marsden was warned she would be evicted from campus residence unless she agreed to stay away from Donnelly and SFU criminology professor Neil Boyd. Both complained she was stalking them, although no charges were laid.

In 2002, Marsden was charged with criminally harassing former Vancouver radio host Michael Morgan after being warned to stay away from him. In 2004, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a conditional discharge.

In 2005, she met Backhurst. She was visiting a Toronto police firearms range.

Three months ago, she posted his photo on her website as "Rachel's Jerk of the Day." She removed the photo within 24 hours, she has said, but Backhurst's lawyer said the posting has potentially endangered the officer.

"She has put a police officer at risk by identifying him, posting his picture (and risking his exposure) as an undercover operative for anti-terrorism. It's a huge issue," lawyer McKay said.

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